224 COTTON 



moment, this seems an unlikely occurrence. Indeed, it 

 is often found at the present time that the small proprietor 

 is the victim of his neighbour who has large possessions, 

 and who frequently uses the small man's land as a con- 

 venient discharge area for his own drainage. 



The proper expansion of the cotton-growing area in 

 Egypt is largely controlled by the conditions just men- 

 tioned, but no improvement of the lands referred to can 

 be carried out except it be undertaken on a large scale, 

 as all portions of the area served by the same canal 

 section and discharging into the same main drain must 

 necessarily be interdependent. 



The reclamation of lands in the north of the Delta 

 will produce new areas available for cotton cultivation 

 after some years, but in the present condition of the Nile 

 most of the reclamation projects must be temporarily 

 abandoned. It should be mentioned in this connection 

 that it cannot be anticipated that the cotton yield from 

 these lands will attain the same average per feddan as 

 that of the more favourably placed localities. 



Meanwhile, if an increase of area under cotton should 

 occur in the near future, it must be interpreted as corre- 

 sponding to a diminution of the cultivation of food grain, 

 chiefly wheat. Such a diminution is of some importance 

 to the country. Although wheat is not such a remunera- 

 tive crop as cotton at the present price of the latter, the 

 further increased frequency of cotton in the rotation 

 would in some instances produce a diminished yield of 

 lint, and it is more advantageous to the soil to retain it 

 in a naturally fertile condition than to be compelled to 

 resort to the application of artificial manures to procure 

 a normal result. 



It is not generally realized to what extent Egypt is 

 self-supporting in the matter of food supply. The accom- 

 panying table which I have drawn up (p. 226) gives, I 

 think, a clear indication of the economic situation, besides 

 being an interesting demonstration of the richness of the 

 country. For the purpo.se of making a comparative 

 estimate of the country's consumption of food grain, the 

 crops of each year (the earliest harvested of which are 

 beans, wheat, and barley) must be assumed to become 



